New York, US President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block a subpoena demanding his accounting firm to turn over eight years of his tax returns to New York prosecutors, the President’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement.
“We have filed a petition with the US Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Second Circuit decision regarding a subpoena issued by the New York County District Attorney,” Xinhua news agency reported citing Sekulow as saying in the statement on Thursday.
“In our petition, we assert that the subpoena violates the US Constitution and therefore is unenforceable.
“We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant review in this significant constitutional case and reverse the dangerous and damaging decision of the appeals court,” the attorney added.
The federal appeals court ruled earlier to uphold a subpoena ordering Trump’s accountants to hand his financial records over for investigation.
It’s thought to be the first time that a US President’s personal financial dealings have made their way to the nation’s top court.
If the justices agree to consider the case, it could determine whether any US President has blanket criminal immunity while in office, local analysts said.
However, the court could also decline to hear the case, effectively requiring the disclosure of his returns, according to local media reports.
Thursday’s development comes after a federal judge in New York on October 7 rejected a lawsuit filed by Trump in an attempt to avoid having to turn over his tax returns after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office sought to obtain the documents as part of an investigation into hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign.
Trump’s attorneys argued that the tax returns did not have to be released, citing presidential immunity.
